After spending 15 years overseas, Singaporean entrepreneur Gillian Tee determined to return house in 2016 to be nearer to her household.
It was what she known as “the right storm.”
Three of her shut family members had been residing with continual diseases and Tee shortly found the “ache factors” of caring for people who want specialised care.
“For instance you fell and broke your hip, the medical half is kind of clear. It’s a must to discover specialists, you possibly can go to… [a] public hospital or personal hospital,” Tee stated.
“However what occurs when it’s worthwhile to come house, when it’s worthwhile to transition again to your neighborhood and your property, what’s the care plan? What’s the proper factor to even take into consideration, by way of proofing the house, mobility aids?”
Homage gives a variety of house care providers, together with every day residing help, nursing care and residential remedy.
Homage
That is when she determined to start out Homage, an organization that matches sufferers who want long-term house care with certified caregivers.
Since 2017 when the corporate was based, the startup has raised $45 million, she stated naming notable buyers akin to Golden Gate Ventures Sheares and Healthcare Group — a Temasek wholly owned subsidiary, in addition to early stage enterprise agency 500 Startups.
Homage is now valued at greater than $100 million, based on Tee.
However this isn’t the 40-year-old’s first foray into entrepreneurship. She was a administration advisor for Accenture when she chanced upon a ebook that modified the course of her profession.
“I began off as a software program developer and I used to be simply very drawn to it as a result of I favored constructing issues. However what actually hit me was this idea of utility,” she instructed CNBC Make It.
How do I take advantage of know-how to construct one thing that individuals can use, and it impacts their lives?
Gillian Tee
Co-founder and CEO, Homage
She was referring to the ebook Founders at Work: Tales of Startups’ Early Days, written by Jessica Livingston, who co-founded seed stage funding agency Y Combinator.
“How do I take advantage of know-how to construct one thing that individuals can use, and it impacts their lives?”
And so started Tee’s entrepreneur journey, which incorporates spending two years in Silicon Valley, the place she co-founded Rocketrip in 2013. It’s a web site that incentivizes enterprise vacationers to avoid wasting their employers cash on journey bills.
The corporate raised $32 million — together with $15 million from Google Ventures — earlier than being acquired by Mondee Holdings in 2020.
This serial entrepreneur shares her high suggestions for working profitable startup.
1. Know your market
Be it constructing an app for journey or well being care, the enterprise fundamentals by no means change, stated Tee.
“It is advisable know your market rather well. Know your value drivers, development drivers and demand drivers.”
Homage is at the moment in three markets — Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, the place there are “distinctive traits” that join properly to the issue that the corporate is making an attempt to resolve, Tee added.
“We checked out caregiver scarcity, the character of the growing older inhabitants and continual diseases — which apparently, isn’t just brought on by age, however extremely correlated with urbanization.”
Whereas customers of Homage prolong past seniors, the chance in eldercare know-how continues to develop as individuals dwell longer. In Asia alone, one in 4 individuals will probably be over 60 years previous by 2050, based on the Asian Improvement Financial institution.
Nonetheless, Tee stated she is “an enormous fan of going deep and never overspreading” the enterprise.
“Focus is every little thing. We do have a really clear view of what the markets are, if we should always broaden to extra [countries]. However proper now the present focus is on deepening our present markets,” she added.
2. Construct a great staff
Enterprise fundamentals are necessary, however entrepreneurs ought to “anchor first on individuals,” stated Tee.
This has served Homage properly in offering the perfect look after its shoppers, and for Tee, who had no prior expertise within the health-care trade.
I attempt to do the perfect I can, however I deliver on people who find themselves significantly better than me.
Gillian Tee
Co-founder and CEO, Homage
“It is necessary to lean on specialists for medical governance and compliance. That is why we now have our director of nursing, for instance, who has 20 years of expertise throughout totally different medical settings,” Tee shared.
“An enormous a part of what we do is we have to synthesize care high quality with the product and know-how. That is the staff it’s worthwhile to construct — I attempt to do the perfect I can, however I deliver on people who find themselves significantly better than me.”
3. Concentrate on the ‘100 good issues’
Being an entrepreneur could be isolating, stated Tee, particularly so if you end up a girl.
“You get snide feedback, however after all, much less so now as a result of there is a fame and respect that is been constructed up.”
However issues weren’t at all times straightforward at first. “For instance, [a director] as soon as instructed me, ‘, now I do know why the newspapers function you, as a result of your eyes are so stunning.'”
“That is my mantra like every little thing I am going by: I’ve to be twice as assertive, extra data-driven and be tremendous sharp. I do suppose we [female entrepreneurs] need to do extra to show our level.”
Even so, Tee has discovered to take issues in her stride and lean on the individuals who matter.
“There’s 100 issues, however there’s additionally 100 good issues. You bought to actually tune out the noise and be okay going by that depth,” she added.
“It is exhilarating in some methods, however tiring in lots of others. Lean in your staff, be open, susceptible, clear with them. I believe that is a very powerful factor.”
4. Innovation drives affect
What does innovation imply to Tee? It is about making an affect on customers.
“The mission of Homage is so close to and pricey to me. On the finish of the day, there’s nothing higher than constructing one thing that individuals can get an answer out of,” she stated.
“On the finish of the day, there’s nothing higher than constructing one thing that individuals can get an answer out of,” stated Gillian Tee, co-founder and CEO of Homage.
Homage
Originally published at Gold Coast News HQ
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